Advertising apparatus



110.784.649. PATBNTED lfm.. 14, 1905. w. B. woman @T1/'zh esse. N rahmen' M @uw 6%? We...

No. 784,649. PATBNTED MAR. 14, 1905. W. B. WORTHY. ADVERTISING APPARATUS.

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UNITED STATES Patented Hatch. 14, 1905,

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIS B. VVORTHY. 0F (IHK-LAGO, lLLlNUlS.

ADVERTISING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part 0f Letters Patent N 0. 784,649, dated March 14, 1905. Application 51nd November 3, 1904. Serial llo. 231.261

To all whom it muy concern:

Bc it known that l, WILLIS B. Won'rnr. a citizen of thc U 'itcd States. and a resident of lhicago, Cook county, Illinois, have inventa-d certain ncw and uscfnl Improvements in Ad vcrtising Apparatus, of which thc. following is a spccilication.

I t common practico with :nlvnrtiacrs` of the present day to croc-t their sign-lmards along the rights,l of way of railroads, both steam and clcctric, so that thc attcntion of the passengers in the cars will hc attractod to the signs as thc)Y look out through thc car-windows at the passing scenery. Tho value of such signs, however, is at prescrit greatly rcdnccd, owing to thc fact that as night comas on thcy are conccalml or rencilcred illegible by the darkness. and this is particularly truc of signs iocatcd along suburban lincs and interurbain cloctric railways where thc travel is likolj,r to he greatest aiftcr dust: and in tho evening hours, during which tho signs, if visible, would nuturally meot with the greatest publicity. Uc-

misional signs may of course he illuminated by ordinary methods and thus rendered visible at night as well as in the day-time; but the axpcnsc of continued illumination, if Sulliciontli.-v marked to be in angT way effective, is too great to he colnmerciallifpracticable in thc great majority7 of cases. particularly in outlying districts and in the country.

With these facts in vicw thc present invantion'contcmplatcs the rendering of such signs visible at night by illuminating,r devices which are l'irought into action only intermittently and for short intervals while the car or train is passino. ln other words. it contemplates thc provision at thc sign ot' illuminating dcviccs so controlled hy the passing cars or trains on the adjacent railway that tho sign will he lighted np ws tho car approaches and will continuc to bc lighted stcadily or hy intermittent flaches until tho car has' passed out of visual rango. )hvionsly for this pui-posa an cloctrical lighting of thc sign will ordinarilir ho thc. most fcasihlc, and along clcctric railways tha cnrrcnt. from thc trolhjay-wirc or third rail of the railway may hc utilizcd for thc tompornry illumination oi' thcsiu'n an woll as for thc propclling and illuminationoi thc railway cars. Along stcanvrailroads of cours-o a soparatc source of current must hc employed. ln thc former case a limited length of conductorhar laid alongside of and parallel with thc track. aitcr thc lnanncr of a third rail, can conveniently he employed in connection with a Shoo on thc car to throw the. lamps of thc Sign into circuit with thc trolley pole and wire. ln thc lattoronc or more pairs ol' connected switches can hc providcd along thc tracks at proper intervals and arranged to hc. actuated in succession by thc whccls'of thc car, so as to Inakc and break tho circnitone or nim-o tif-nos as thc car paw-s by thc sign.

'lho invention consists in the matters thus and hereinafter sot forth, and particularly pointed out in thc appcndcd claims when considered in connection with thc accompanying dra-Winn. in which Figure l is a somewhat diagral'nmatic ricw in clei-'ationof a sign located along the lineof an electric railway and arranged to ho supplied with current through thc trolley of tho caras the latter passes thc sign. Fig. 2 is a similar top plan ricw of thc road-bwl, showin g thc electrical connections: of thc sign in thin` arrangcmcnt. Fig. 3 is an ond elevation showing thc onlinr-wiring in connection inside. of thc car. Fig. 4 is a top plan detail ot' It slightly-Inmlilnd form of road-hud connection intcndcd to produca a litful or intermittcnt [lashing of thc sign instead of a steady illumination of it. Fig. 5 is a sido elcvation. diagrannnatic in character. of a. steam-road hai-'ing on its right of wai-Y a sign arrangi'id to 'no illuminated as the train pacscs through appropriate switchcsand con ncctingwires. Fig. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal dctail of the switchmcchanism which throws on thc lights as tho car apprrmchcs thc sign. Fig'. 7 in a similar vicw oi thc switch mechanism cmployed to turn thc lights nfl as thccar rcccdcal from tho sign.

Rcfcrring to thc. drawings shown in Figs. l to 'l, l designados a sign-hoard locatcd alongr tho right of wayol' an vlcctric railroad. 'llu` motor-cars 3 of thin railroad can lac supplicd with cnrrcnt cithrr from a third rail or. as heroin illustrati-d, from a I.rol|cv\virc Al, onizaigi-.d hy an lnulcrrlinning.;l trulli-y Ii, thu cuia l OO rent so derived being employed` as usual, to propel the carand illuminate its interior. ln

acci'yrdanee with the present invention also the current so derived is used to temporarily illuminate the sign 1 as and when the trolleyp car passes the sign. and to this en d a section of the trac'; 2 adjacent to the sign ifsv provided with a longitudinal conductor-bar in the nature of a third rail 6, which har is arranged a to be engaged by a shoe or brush T, carried b v the car.

quent-ly will divert a portion of the current from the trolley-wire to the conductor-bar at auch times as the shoe is in contact with the bar 6. T his current is then directed through one or more lamps 9 at the sign 1 by introducing these lamps in a circuit 10, leading from the cond actor-bar 6 to any suitable ground conne@ tion` which will conveniently consist of one of the ordinary railsof the track 2. The lamps l() of the signi may be so arranged as to outline the letters of the sign in afainiliar manner, if so desired, or may simply be arranged in a position to throw lightupon the face of the sign.I and thas light it up. ing up of the sign will occuronlyat such times as the shoe i of the trolley-car rests in contact with the conductor bar or rail 6, and by making this bar of appropriate length and locating it in proper longitudinal position with refer ence to the sign the lighting of the latter may he made to occur whenever desired with referencc to the approach of the car and may be continued as long as desired or until the car has passed beyond the visual range of the sign. The whole period of illumination, further more, may, if so desired` bedivided into aserics of dashes with intervening moments of darkness, in the expectation that the iitful illumination of the sign will cause it to even more effectively attract the eye. This maiT be brought about. for example, by breaking the condactopbar into separate lengths 11, Fig. ,4, each of which, although maintained electrically in circuit with the other sections by connecting-wires 12, will itself be in contact with the shoe 7 of the trolley-car only momentarily. With this construction the sign will be lighted up while contact is made with each section 11 of the conductor-bar and will he darkened again each time the brush passes l over one of the spaces between the conductorbar, so that the entire period of illumination '.l`l..s shoe 'T is shown as connected by a wire 8 with the trollei, and consei 1n either case the light f is in this casederived from a special lightingcircuit l5. with which the local circuit lo of the sign placed in connection through a suitable switch mechanism 1.7. As herein shown, this mechanism comprises a plunger 18. which is normally held upward b v a spring 19, but which projects into the path of the wheels of the locomotive and cars so as to be depressed thereby in their passage. This plunger is shown as engaging at its lower end a pivoted switch-lever Qt), which is connected. as by a wire 2l, with one side of the main circuit 15 and which when the plunger-bar is depressed by the wheels will be thrown up into contact t with a terminal 17 of the local circuit 16 leading to the sign. A gravity-latch 22 is provided to temporarily hohl the switch-lever in its position against the contact 17, and the current passing from the circuit 15 through the wire 21, switch-lever' 20, Contact 17, and circuit 16 will energize the lamps 9 of the i sign and cause it to light up, the other end of thc circuit 16 being connected with the opposite side of the circuit- 15 than that to which The turningr oi of the the wire 2l connects. i lights of the sign is then accomplished, after i a suit-able interval has passed, by an auxiliary E mechanism comprising a second plunger :53.

which also, like the plunger 18, projects into the path of the wheels of the locomotive or the ear so as to be depressed therebyr in their i wissage. This second plunger controls the i iiow of cui-rent through an auxiliary circuit l; 24, which is bridged across the circuit 15 and i in which an clectromagnet 25 is connected.

To this magnet the latch 22 is arranged toaet as an armature in such manner that when the magnet is energized the latch is withdrawn i and releases the switch-lever 20. This lever then drops down and opens the lighting-ciw cuit 16 and the contact 17, thereby cutting` t the lamps 9 out of circuit. Normally the auxiliar)y circuit 24 is opened and the latch 22 is free to engage the lever 20. The depressing of the plunger 23, however, is arranged to close the circuit 24, said plunger being prrr E vided with a Contact 26, which when the plunger is depressed strikes against a iixed contact 27 and permits the current to liow g from the one side to the other of the lighti ing-circuit l5 through the electromagnet 25, as described. With this construction the pas- -1 sage of an engine orcar over the first plunger 18 will light up the sign, and this lighting up of the sign will continue until the. engine or car passes over the second plunger 22, whereupon the lights will he eictinguiuhed` for the reason that the retraction of the armature 22 will thereafter permit the lever 2.0. to drop and open the lighting-circuit. The distance between tho two pluugzers, and consequently the length ol' time. during which the sign is lighted up.. may obviously be umile as great i or small au desired. (.)bi'ii'iunly` also, with even if unprnvided with the latehing device l 22, would nevertheless serve to direct the@ lightingcurrcnt through the'lalups of the sign and canse it to he lighted up momentarily E whenever the wheels of an engine or car passed over the plunger 18. and this momentary lighting up or dashing of the sign would i in such case occur as many times during' the passage of the train as there were separate i wheel` to pass over and depress the plunger, l und th apparatus limited would be con sidcrahly simpler, for the reason that not only g the hatching device but also the auxiliary circuit and eiectromagnet and the second plungcr'controlling this auxiliary circuit und magnet uuid in such event also be dispensed with, while the lighting up of the sign by repeat/ed iiashcs might make it even more noticcable and attractive than thel more constant lighting prmluccd b v the double-plunger arrangement. Obviously, niso, a great variety i of mechanisms and diii'ereut forms of switch devices may he made to accomplish the same gencml result und all be within the spirit of my broad invention as thus set forth and hereinafter claimed. The particular arrangements and mechanisms disclosed and claimed i are, however. in themselves ctfective and vaiued fenturce of improvement within such i breed invention.

l claim as my inventionn 1. An mlvertising apparatus for use in conl ncction with railroads, comprising a sign along l the track, devices forl illuminating the sign, and means controlled by the passage of the car on the track for bringing the illuminating devices into action at intervals and dan' ing the passage of the train or car, substantially as described.

V2. An advertising apparatus for use in con uection with railroads,comprisinga sign along the track, devices for illuminating the eign; and means for bringing the illuminating devices into action at intervals and by intermittent dashes during the passing of the car or train, substantially as described.

ln an advertising apparatus for railroads, the combination of a sign located alongside of, and facing, the road-bed, electric illuminating` devices adjacent the sign, a circuit including the illuminating devices, means operated automatically by an approaching train for closing said circuit when the sign comes within the field of vision of the passengers carried on the train, and means operated by the train for opening the circuit when the sign ieaves the field of vision ofthe passengers. substantiaily as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that l claim the foregoing as my invention I aiiix my signature, in presence of two eebseribingwitncsses, this 28th day ol October, A. D. 1904.

WILLIS B. WOR'IHY.

Witnesses:

HENRY W. Curran, K. A. Cos'rnnno. 

